Cole Makes It Official
All five of Oklahoma’s incumbents in the U.S. House — as well as Sen. Jim Inhofe — are expected to file for reelection next week. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, officially announced today that he’ll seek a fourth term in the district that includes Norman, Lawton, Chickasha, Duncan, Ada, Ardmore and part of Midwest City.
Cole isn’t expected to face strong opposition in his district. His challenge has been up here in Washington, where he heads the campaign committee that’s supposed …
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More Drilling and Price Controls
The House Republican leadership, which has been hammering Democrats for not doing enough to combat high gas prices, put out an e-mail alert this morning that a new Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans would support more drilling in federally protected areas. That is something the GOP is calling for in its energy plan.
But the same poll shows a majority of Americans would support price controls on gasoline — probably not an idea that Republicans are going to …
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McCain Leads in Sooner Dough
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has now raised more money in Oklahoma than either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential contenders.
However, Clinton and Obama combined have raised far money than McCain in the state, and Democratic presidential candidates overall still have a slight edge over the GOP candidates in money raising in Oklahoma.
You can see a breakdown on the Federal Election Commission site. …
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McClellan's Book
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan has joined the long list of ex-public officials who have written tell-all books. And his raises the usual question: Why not tell all when you’re in a position of public trust, being paid by American citizens and your honesty could actually have an impact on events?
According to news accounts of the book, McClellan says President Bush and the administration relied on “propaganda” to sell the war in Iraq. And who would know …
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Students see proposal's final step
An idea from high school students is now a state law. And several Shawnee High School students worked on the proposal got to see it signed into law during a special ceremony at the state Capitol.
“It was like a privilege to come up here and watch him sign it,” said Korbin Williams, who will be a sophomore later this year at Shawnee High School.
The governor actually signed House Bill 2705 into law last week. But he held a …
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Fallin Honors Women in Military
Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, and other women in Congress honored women serving in the military and veterans at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery this week, just a few days before Memorial Day. The ceremony included the dedication of a memorial wreath for those women who died in service to the country.
Fallin is the co-chair of the Women in the Military Task Force in the House.
She said, “No one doubts the great contributions that women have made …
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Boren BBQ
For years, the annual barbeque in Muskogee hosted by the late Oklahoma Congressman Mike Synar was one of the state’s big political gatherings.
Next week, Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, will be holding his own political cook-out in the northeastern Oklahoma town.
Boren is hosting a barbeque on May 30 at the Muskogee Civic Center where House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, of Maryland, former Gov. George Nigh, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Okahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson will be guests.
Doors …
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Boren Squeezed Off Panel
All of the success Democrats are having in special House races this year is causing some crowding on committees.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, is having to make way for one of the three new Democrats, giving up his seat on the Financial Services Committee, which has been the lead panel on the housing foreclosure crisis. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, also serves on the committee.
Boren got a waiver to serve as a temporary member on the committee in this Congress. …
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Coburn Blasts Farm Bill
Sen. Tom Coburn, the fiscal hawk Republican from Muskogee, might have surprised a few people in December when he voted for a farm bill that was heavily criticized by his natural allies in the Senate and groups like Citizens Against Government Waste that have long supported him.
Well, today he’s back “in character.” Coburn was one of 15 senators to vote against the bill and he didn’t mince words about it. Here’s his statement:
“As food and gas prices reach …
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Boren Gets NRA Post
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, has been named to the National Rifle Association’s board of directors.
Boren, who represents much of eastern Oklahoma south of Muskogee, is actually the second Oklahoma congressman in recent years to sit on the NRA board. Former Rep. Bill Brewster, a Democrat who hailed from Marietta, also served on the board while he was in office.
Brewster was in Congress at a time when guns were a big issue. The Brady bill and a ban on …
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